Bath & North East Somerset Council has been accused of “falling short” of its duties after four times delaying a decision on whether to permit a commercial electric vehicle charging site in Newbridge.
May Lane in Newbridge
Developer Zest Eco has now appealed to the Secretary of State to try to secure permission for four EV charging bays in May Lane, a private road off Evelyn Road.
The land was sold at auction last year for £12,500. It had a guide price of £15,000.
It was described as a freehold parcel of land with vehicular access from Evelyn Road and scope for six parking spaces.
May Lane provides rear access to homes and to a number of garages.
Zest Eco, which is backed by the government’s Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund, was initially seeking to install five charging bays but that has been reduced to four.
People living nearby had raised objections about the plans, saying the narrow lane is unsuitable for this commercial venture and is well used by pedestrians, cyclists and dog walkers, providing access to schools, doctors’ surgery and the Royal United Hospital.
It was also flagged up that access to properties would be severely limited, that there is no lighting and that charging bays being used at all times of the day and night by strangers could impact on residents.
But Transition Bath supported the application, saying it is in line with the council’s climate change objectives.
It added: “Many of the homes in the area lack on-site parking and this use of unused land would help those residents charge their electric cars.”
B&NES Council says in its statement to the Planning Inspectorate that had the planning officer made a recommendation, it would have been to refuse permission, due to concerns about the impact on a public right of way and a lack of information about biodiversity net gain (BNG).
The public footpath, known as BC25/9, runs from Newbridge Hill to Chandler Close and provides access to the western end of May Lane.
The council says in its statement: “The parking bays as shown are parallel to the access lane.
“It is therefore likely that vehicles will access the site either from the east or west and given the narrowness of the site will not be able to turn but will continue along the lane and exit from the other end of May Lane.
“This inevitably will result in vehicles using the footpath to either access or exit from the site.”
The council’s highways team had initially raised concerns about access width, manoeuvres within site ownership and emergency access, but those objections were later lifted.
The council says the design, siting, scale and layout of the scheme are acceptable and it is “unlikely” that the development would cause significant harm to people living nearby through loss of privacy, noise, light pollution, traffic or other disturbance.
Zest Eco says in its appeal statement that the scheme aims to create an accessible EV charging location for local residents and nearby businesses and utilises a space that otherwise “has no practical alternative purpose in serving the local area”.
The planning application was submitted last May.
In its appeal statement Zest Eco says that between August 2024 and February 2025 it had agreed “in good faith” to four requests from B&NES Council for extensions of time.
Zest Eco says: “It is of concern that the policies and mandates from central government planning policy to support applications for electric vehicle charging infrastructure are not being adhered.
“The applicant considers the application to be of value and by not determining this application, despite the agent agreeing to several extensions of time, B&NES are falling short of their duties.”
The developer says it would be willing to make BNG compensation contributions in seeking a resolution on ecological grounds.
